County set to make deal on solar panels

Gazette 2011 file photo of solar panels on top of the Schiele Museum.

By Michael Barrett

Published: Friday, November 9, 2012 at 10:52 AM.

Almost a year ago, Gaston County blazed a renewable energy trail here by leasing rooftop space for the installation of solar panels.Now, the county is aiming to flip the light switch on a similar project, using vacant land at an abandoned landfill.

County commissioners on Thursday agreed to allow Calor Energy of Charlotte to explore the feasibility of the idea over the next year. If it’s determined that the closed Auten Road landfill would be a good fit for the venture, the two entities could proceed with a partnership that allows the county to share in the revenue from the sale of solar energy.

“We look at this as a win-win for the county,” said Gaston County Manager Jan Winters.

Auten Road is located off North New Hope Road, in an unincorporated pocket surrounded by the Gastonia city limits.

Renewableinvestment

The county’s first foray into solar energy involved the roof of its large York Chester Plaza building, where the Board of Elections and other offices are housed along West Franklin Boulevard. NARENCO, a Charlotte renewable energy firm, installed more than 3,000 solar photovoltaic panels there in December 2011.

The company is paying the county about $12,000 a year to lease the rooftop, said county Public Works Director Ray Maxwell.

Almost a year ago, Gaston County blazed a renewable energy trail here by leasing rooftop space for the installation of solar panels.Now, the county is aiming to flip the light switch on a similar project, using vacant land at an abandoned landfill.

County commissioners on Thursday agreed to allow Calor Energy of Charlotte to explore the feasibility of the idea over the next year. If it’s determined that the closed Auten Road landfill would be a good fit for the venture, the two entities could proceed with a partnership that allows the county to share in the revenue from the sale of solar energy.

“We look at this as a win-win for the county,” said Gaston County Manager Jan Winters.

Auten Road is located off North New Hope Road, in an unincorporated pocket surrounded by the Gastonia city limits.

Renewableinvestment

The county’s first foray into solar energy involved the roof of its large York Chester Plaza building, where the Board of Elections and other offices are housed along West Franklin Boulevard. NARENCO, a Charlotte renewable energy firm, installed more than 3,000 solar photovoltaic panels there in December 2011.

The company is paying the county about $12,000 a year to lease the rooftop, said county Public Works Director Ray Maxwell.

NARENCO in turn is selling the energy that is produced to Duke Energy, while also selling the valuable Solar Renewable Energy Credits, or RECs, to Energy United of Statesville.

Maxwell said the value of that energy and the energy credits has not been revealed by NARENCO. But the point is that the deal is costing the county nothing, and producing revenue.

The installation of solar panels at the landfill by Calor Energy would work in reverse. Calor wouldn’t pay anything to lease the land. But the county would share in about 25 percent of the revenue produced from the sale of the energy and energy credits.

Installing solar panels on a rooftop is one thing, said Rich Deming, a Calor Energy senior partner.

“Developing solar at a landfill is quite a bit trickier,” he said.

The next year will be spent working through required permitting hurdles with state and federal environmental groups. It must be demonstrated that the project would not unsafely disturb the material buried underground there, he said.

The time will also be spent examining whether it even makes economic sense to pursue the project, Deming said.

“It’s not a stable market,” he said of solar energy. “We need that year to see if we can even put solar on the site. But we wouldn’t be here if we didn’t think it probably had a decent likelihood of success.”

Money for nothing?

If the project pans out, the deal would probably involve the county signing a 15-year agreement with Calor, with an option for a 10-year renewal. The Auten Road landfill site could potentially produce as many as 13 megawatts of energy per year, Deming said.

More realistically, it would probably produce two to six megawatts per year, which could provide the county with $20,000 to $100,000 per year in revenue, he said.